Zeke and the others warriors watched as the Paradis soldiers boarded the three ships, one of which included his followers: the Eldian Restorationists. They wanted to see them off before heading off to the next battle. There was little vocal opposition in the plan, but he could see that some of them were worried about the situation. But it wasn't up for debate. The failure of the Paradis expedition and the loss of the Jaws Titans has led to this war. They needed to rectify that in order for Marley to remain a global superpower.
Zeke noticed Yelena was the last to board the ship, and she gave a subtle wink to him while the ropes holding the ship were being untied. The remaining soldiers and warriors saluted the soldiers on the ship as it made way to the island.
"Hopefully, they will return safely," Pieck said.
Zeke heard Reiner mumble something under his breath, something about doubt. Zeke had a gut feeling Reiner was talking about the mission and how it was going to be a failure. And he was right about that, because Zeke handed the plans over to the Flying Titan.
Those ships were not going to come back.
-----
Paradis
Optimus looked onward towards the horizon, noticing the very thin line between the sky and the sea. The titan looked behind him to see the Survey Corps setting up camp and preparing their weapons for the arrival of the Marleyans. According to Megatron, they were to arrive in two days with three military ships. There were no Eldians injected with the serum, so they didn't have to worry about titans running rampant. In regards to the strategy itself to invade the island, that was up for debate. Megatron knew that they would attack the south of the island, but he wasn't able to confirm the exact strategy.
Optimus felt someone hook onto his shoulder and saw Hanji landing there with her 3D gear.
"Transportation of all weaponry is complete," Hanji informed, "Now it's just sitting and waiting. Unfortunately, the only person that we know is a Restorationist is Yelena. We don't know how many on those ships will actually be part of that group."
"I'm certain they will reveal themselves once they arrive on the island," Optimus proclaimed, "The only thing we can do now is wait."
"Do you think Buckethead will come and help?" Hanji asked.
"I do not know," Optimus admitted, "If it was a full-fledged attack, then he would help."
"So he stays in Marley until further notice," Hanji sighed, "Or until the military can completely trust him to allow him to come back and forth to the island more freely."
"You do remember what I told you in regards to addressing Megatron, correct?" Optimus asked.
Hanji sighed. "Yes, I do. Under no circumstances are we to address Megatron by his actual name in the presence of the Eldian Restorationists and the Marleyans. But the question is: why? Why bother? It's not like the Marleyans are going to leave the island."
"It is a way to measure trust," Optimus explained, "Megatron does not trust Zeke Jaeger or his followers. If he does, then he will give his name as a way measure trust. It also wouldn't be wise to reveal his name, when reports state that Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt do not know his name."
"Fine, but I'm going to keep calling him 'Buckethead'," Hanji proclaimed.
"Hanji," Optimus warned.
"To his face," Hanji continued.
"No-,"
"And when he orders me to stop, I'm going to say 'I thought you didn't like your name,'" Hanji imitated as she batted her eyelashes.
"Do not aggravate him," Optimus ordered.
"He can't do anything to me," Hanji declared.
"We both know that is a lie; he will find a way," Optimus retorted.
Hanji sighed. "You're right. Suppose that's what terrifying about him."
----------------
Marley
Megatron found himself walking towards the mess hall in irritation. He didn't want to, but he had to create some illusion that he was human. Taking food to his room and disposing of it later seemed to fool these idiots long enough to come up with an actual excuse. Since he's been pushing the narrative that he doesn't take trust easily, he pretends to eat by himself. It usually works out for him just fine. The one benefit of having no one trust you, is that no one wants to come near you unless ordered to.
Well, almost…
Megatron glanced behind him to see Gabi, Falco, and Zofia hiding behind a wall. These three kids have been tailing him for the past couple of minutes. He tried to shake them off without them knowing he was aware of their presence, but it didn't really seem to work. They were persistent; he'll give them that. But he needed to put an end to this soon.
Megatron entered the mess hall quickly and grabbed some random package meal before exiting. He went back the way he came, noting that the three children were hiding again. Megatron walked down the hallway and grabbed one of them at random by their collar and dragging them down the rest of the way as they struggled to get out of his grasp.
"Let go!" the one in his grasp cried out.
Megatron wanted to visibly groan. It was the loud one. He made it outside before throwing Gabi to the floor.
"Stop following me around," Megatron ordered in his other vernacular as Falco and Zofia helped Gabi to her feet.
"But-!"
Megatron held up his hand to tell them to be quiet. "You have been following me around, and pestering me for months, despite the fact that I don't want to be anywhere near anyone here. Least of all, kids. So: go away."
"Sir, wait!" Gabi pleaded as she got up in front of him, "Can you please train us?!"
"I train based on the schedule, and right now, is my break," Megatron hissed.
"Can you tell us about how you got so good?" Gabi asked, "Or your scars! How did you get your scars?!"
"None of your business," Megatron answered.
"What about the places you've been to?" Falco asked, "Have you travelled a lot?"
"No-!"
"Matthew Hayes," a voice spoke behind him.
"What?!" Megatron yelled as he turned to see Commander Calvi right behind him. Megatron noted that the three kids were now pale in their faces. They straightened their backs and saluted the Commander. Megatron could tell they were terrified.
"What do you want?" Megatron demanded.
"You're needed in the lab," Calvi proclaimed, "I will be in attendance and I need your protection."
Megatron rolled his eyes. "Fine."
Calvi turned his attention to the three Eldians and glared at them. "What gives you devils the right to pester and bother a human giving his service?"
Megatron saw that they were beginning to tremble, and he could've sworn one of them was about to cry.
"When Matthew tells you that he does not want to be bothered, listen to him," Calvi ordered, "He does not have time for your trickster games. You are not even worth the time of day."
"Yes, sir," they all said.
Calvi turned to Megatron. "These devils won't bother you any more during your free time."
Megatron didn't reply as Calvi walked back into the compound. Megatron glanced back at the children's guilty and scared expressions.
"We…we're sorry," Falco apologized.
Megatron looked down at the packaged food in his hand before tossing it to Falco. Falco stumbled to catch it, and Megatron saw the three's expressions changing into one of surprise and confusion. Megatron merely placed a finger over his lips before following Calvi inside.
--
Later
Megatron watched the three meter titan running around in the chamber while Calvi was talking to one of the scientists about their studies. Calvi dismissed the scientists before turning his attention to the three meter titan as well.
"…I didn't mean to yell at you earlier," Megatron stated. It wasn't an apology; he had no actual reason to apologize to him. But it allowed Calvi to believe that he was apologetic.
"I understand," Calvi said, "You were angry at those devils. They kept on pestering you and wouldn't leave you alone. You can use violence against them so they will listen to you."
"Pretty sure that I'm not allowed to do that," Megatron recalled.
"You're a human, and they are Eldians," Calvi reassured, "You are well within your rights to do so. It's not like you would get into trouble for it. Besides, it keeps them in line. You can't let them think you're their equal."
Calvi pointed to the titan below. "Look at that devil. Running around like a demented animal, waiting to get its hands on another human to devour. However you treat them, it won't affect you."
"Even though they are your weapons?" Megatron questioned.
"If they speak out of line, we can just turn them into titans," Calvi shrugged, "We always have more of them at our disposal anyway."
Megatron felt…oddly disgusted with this human. At least more disgusted than with the average human. Why did this situation bother him so much? He doesn't even care about these humans? He also treated the humans with carelessness. What difference did this make?
"You also treated the vehicons like this," Unicron reminded, "They were expendable, practically identical. Breakdown was the only one to treat them with any form of respect. Meanwhile, you thought carelessly of them. You threw one to their death to retrieve the Omega Keys."
Megatron waved his hand to brush the apparition away. The former warlord looked down at the titan with an unreadable expression.
"It's not like they know what they are doing," Megatron retorted.
"Doesn't matter," Calvi proclaimed, "They would destroy the world if left unchecked."
There was silence between the two; the only noise coming from the titan below them.
"So am I going to stay here the whole time?" Megatron demanded.
"I just wanted to check up on the titan," Calvi admitted, "I wanted to see the progress in studying it before having someone kill it."
"I'm not putting my neck out to kill that thing," Megatron declared.
"That's fair," Calvi said, "I'll have it killed by Zeke when he returns."
"Which reminds me: why aren't you on the battlefield with your men?" Megatron asked.
"I'm more valuable alive then dead," Calvi answered, "It wouldn't make sense for me to be out on the front lines. Especially considering the situation,"
"I can't say I follow," Megatron played dumb.
"The war started because we lost the Jaws Titan, and unknowingly lost the Attack Titan," Calvi stated, "It's lost to those devils of Paradis, and it started this war. Marley needs all the help it can get."
Calvi saw Matthew counting with his fingers while mouthing something.
"Then why are only three on the battlefield?" Matthew asked, "I only saw Pieck, Zeke, and Reiner. What about the other two titan shifters?"
Calvi looked back down at the titan below and sighed. "I'm afraid that's classified information."
"Well if you want me to protect you, I think I would be nice to know that information," Matthew retorted.
Calvi sighed. "We have them on lockdown for experimentation. We need to confirm that we can use this energon for combat without harming our soldiers. We can't put them on the battlefield for a while."
"Do I need to guard them?" Matthew asked.
"No need," Calvi reassured, "Both of them are locked away underground. Even if they could transform, they're underground. They'd end up crushing themselves to death."
Calvi saw Matthew nod his head in understanding as he looked back down at the titan. "So tell me Matthew, what was your primary weapon in those illegal death matches you told me you were part of?"
Matthew seemed irritated at answering the question, but relented regardless. "A sword."
"Really?" Calvi asked in surprise, "I would very much like to see you use one."
"I've sworn it off," Matthew declared, "It's a part of my life that I don't want to go back to."
"That's disappointing," Calvi sighed, "I still think your fighting style is impressive."
"It was something that I had to learn over time," Matthew responded, "So don't expect the Eldians to learn it so quickly. Your lesser seems to want immediate results."
"Commander Magath?" Calvi questioned.
"Yes, and I hate his fucking guts," Matthew hissed, "The reason I'm stuck in this stupid place."
"Well Magath is the one that has to be on the battlefield, so having the Eldians under him in peak physical form increases his chances at survival," Calvi reasoned.
"I hope he dies out there," Matthew declared.
"If you follow military protocol, then you should be able to get your freedom sooner," Calvi reasoned.
Megatron rolled his eyes. "I doubt that with him. I'm pretty sure he hates me too."
"You don't need to convince Magath," Calvi proclaimed, "You just need to convince me."
Megatron narrowed his eyes at Calvi. There was a possibility that this was going to lead to blackmail if he didn't do this right. The best bet at the moment was to cut off the conversation right then and there to prevent anything else from being said that could back him in a corner.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Megatron stated.
--------------------------
Later
"I told you that you should have aggravated him," Falco hissed at Gabi as the three were about the exit the military compound.
"Shut up!" Gabi hissed at him.
"Who knows what's going to happen to us now," Zofia sighed.
"Why couldn't you just leave it alone?!" Falco demanded.
Before Gabi could respond, a staff blocked their way out of the compound. The three paled to see Matthew coming around the wall to reveal himself. He shut the book in his left and spun the staff in his right.
"M-ma-,"
"I was told by Commander Calvi that I could use violence to get my point across with you three, and that I wouldn't get into trouble for it," Matthew declared.
The kids began to tremble in fear. They shut their eyes in fear, fully ready for Matthew to brutally beat them. What they didn't expect, was for Matthew to smack each of them fairly lightly on the head with the staff. Not enough to cause a bruise, but hard enough to actually feel pain. They all yelped at the sensation and rubbed their heads.
"Next time, when I tell you to leave me alone, do it," Matthew ordered them as he held the staff over his shoulder.
Matthew opened the book once more and walked towards the compound. Gabi quickly grabbed the hem of Matthew's jacket, much to the horror of Falco and Zofia. Matthew shut the book again and turned to Gabi, irritated. He used the staff to push Gabi away from him.
"Why are you kind to us?" Gabi demanded, "Why are you showing compassion to us?"
"Why should that matter to you?" Matthew retorted.
"Just now, you didn't beat us or break our bones," Gabi said, "You spared Eldians months ago instead of killing them."
"You saved me and my brother," Falco added.
"You treat us…as if we're human," Zofia proclaimed.
Matthew was silent for a moment. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Pieck: when you realize that all humans are the same: violent, disgusting, and cruel, then the world is your oyster. You don't care about whether or not someone is an Eldian or not. People are cruel whether or not they can turn into titans. So all I see with you are a bunch of annoying kids."
"So…you're not angry with us?" Gabi asked hopefully.
"I'm annoyed, at best," Matthew responded.
"So then…can you tell us about yourself?!" Gabi exclaimed with excitement.
"What's the coolest place you've been to?" Zofia asked.
"Guys," Falco hissed with warning.
"I said you guys were annoying at best," Matthew reminded, "Do not push it."
"Please, just tell us one story?" Gabi insisted, "Maybe about one of your scars."
"Gabi!" Falco exclaimed.
"No," Matthew drawled out.
"If you tell us, we won't bug you about it again!" Gabi swore.
"I doubt that," Matthew declared as he turned to walk away.
"Please!" Gabi clasped her hands together.
Matthew sighed before turning his attention to the three. "You better leave me alone after this."
Falco was startled while Gabi smiled with excitement.
"Okay," Matthew began, "I got it a few years back. Maybe…two years ago. I ran into an…old acquaintance of mine. She was extremely sadistic and cruel. She used to collect the heads of her victims and hold them as trophies."
Zofia grew tense while Gabi rubbed his neck nervously.
"When I met her again, she wanted to kill me," Matthew continued, "Instead of killing me herself, she thought it would be a sick joke if she let one of her pets kill me. She had twisted beasts with sharp claws and fangs that could rip out a man's throat in seconds."
Matthew showed the scar on his shoulder. "This was the result of my close call with the one she sent after me. I decapitated the beast, but the spider escaped."
"Are…all your scars from combat?" Falco asked.
Matthew nodded his head.
"You…must've been through a lot," Falco concluded
Matthew hummed in response.
"I'm sorry we asked about it," Falco apologized.
"Now next time, you know not to ask again," Matthew proclaimed as he walked away from them, "Go home!"
Megatron heard their footsteps fade from the compound. He looked up to see Calvi looking down at him from his office with disappointment written on his face. Megatron didn't respond to the man as he walked back inside. It looked like he was going to have to tread lightly around him for a while.
------------------
Two days later
Eren waited in his titan form below the sea. His hair floated in the water, and the fish swam past his face. The teen sighed in the nape of the neck and looked up to see any signs of moving waters above him.
It seemed that he could last underwater in his titan form, and it wouldn't affect his actual human body. Although, it did feel like he was suffocating. Maybe he couldn't remain underwater for that long. But that wasn't his main concern. His concern was about the ships almost here on the island. The first ship was already compromised, and there was a second one on its way right now. If his memories were correct, then there should be that woman there. If it was then…
"I…failed you,"
Eren let the energon flow into his arms through his veins. After unlocking those memories with Historia, he had become more accepting of the new serum. Maybe it was because he now had some form of certainty, but he was still terrified of a future that was going to come. Why would he kill Optimus in that future? Maybe it was a sick trick? It didn't matter anyway. That…that wasn't real. He wasn't going to do that; it wasn't his objective. His objective was to destroy the enemy outside the walls. If he can do that and protect his family, everything else be damned.
Eren stood up as he saw the second ship coming into view through the water. When the ship reached a point where Eren could grab it, he did. He swam and grabbed the bottom of the ship before standing on the sea floor. He lifted the ship out of the waters and heard the Marleyans beginning to panic and yell in fear.
The Marleyans grunted as Eren dropped the ship onto the shores of the island. They looked up in horror to see Optimus Prime walking up to the ship with his blaster drawn.
"Drop your weapons immediately and raise your hands in surrender!" Optimus ordered, "If you do not comply, I will be forced to use drastic measures!"
The captain of the ship grabbed his gun. "We will not bend to you demon!"
The captain fired, but the bullet merely deflected off of Optimus' arm. Eren growled and crystallized his fist, but Optimus raised his servo to tell him to stand down.
"You are all outmatched!" Optimus bellowed as he aimed his blaster and charged it, "Comply and no harm will come to the rest of your crew!"
The captain gritted his teeth and aimed his rifle to fire again, but one of the soldiers shot him in the side of his head. The body fell to the floor, taking the rest of the crew by surprise. Optimus blinked in surprise when he saw Yelena take off her helmet and bow.
"Sorry for the delay, Optimus Prime, but we had some issues to take care of," Yelena declared.
"Yelena, what are you doing?!" a soldier demanded, causing the woman to aim her pistol at him.
"Put down your weapons," she ordered, "Unless you want us all to die,"
"Do as she says," Onyankopon ordered as other members of the Eldian Restorationists aimed their weapons at the other Marleyan soldiers.
They complied and began throwing their weapons into the ocean.
"That was unnecessary," Optimus told Yelena.
"He was willing to shoot you, who knows what else he could've done," Yelena reasoned, "There is another ship waiting nearby. So in a little bit, we need to send out a distress signal and lure them in to prevent an escape."
Eren blinked in surprise at the woman. It was her. It was that woman. He talked to that woman later down the line. If that was true, did that really mean that everything he saw was going to come true?
Did that mean that everyone he loved was going to die?
Eren watched as Yelena turned to see his titan form and smiled. "I'm glad to finally meet you as well, Eren Jaeger."
--------
Hanji provided a curtsy as the Marleyans were escorted by the Survey Corps to the makeshift camp. "Welcome to the island of Paradis! We hope that you enjoy your stay! Don't worry; we will treat you as our guests of honor!"
The Marleyans scowled and glared at them all, but they continued walking. Hanji turned her attention to Yelena and Okanyopan, who were escorted towards her with Levi next to them.
"Just because you brought this aid to us, it does not mean that we can trust you," Hanji proclaimed.
Yelena smiled. "I understand. Trust is something that is earned. I hope we can start by showing more of the weapons that we have onboard the ship."
"Later," Hanji reassured, "For now, we need to discuss some conditions about your stay."
Meanwhile, the Survey Corps watched as the Marleyans were forced to sit down in a small group. Sasha looked ready to fall asleep, but Mikasa pulled on her hair to force her to stay awake.
"Hey, Ymir," Jean began, "Is there a chance you remember any of the weapons that they had in Marley?"
Ymir shook her head. "I just saw basic rifles and an older ship. Not what they have right now. Although, the uniform's changed a bit. It used to be a dark blue, now it's a weird shade of grey."
"Doesn't matter about the uniform," Eren declared, "If they wanted to, they could've sent ten times more than what they have right now. We have to do something about it."
"Not much we can do right now," Ymir retorted while Armin and Mikasa gave questioning looks, "The world still has the advantage."
Eren didn't respond to Ymir's comment. He was being consumed by the thought of slaughtering Marley into the ground so that he could save the people he loved and-
"Eren, Ymir," Optimus called out in his bipedal mode, "We need to secure the third ship."
Optimus held out his servo to the two titan shifters. Eren easily climbed on while Ymir struggled to do so, still not used to being around the titan. Eren saw that many Marleyans were glaring at them. What confused him the most, was that their gaze was more directed towards Optimus.
------
The next day
Optimus remained on the sidelines once more as the meeting between the military branches commenced. Hanji began to read off the conditions set by Zeke and his followers, which included making direct contact with Eren. Optimus was not sure about the idea. He was weary, and he silently agreed with some of the vocal opposition in the room in regards to aligning themselves with Zeke. It wasn't safe to trust him. He turned innocent humans into titans, he was willing to double-cross his parents despite their intent. Optimus…lost control when he realized that titans were actually human.
It was a feeling he never wanted to experience again.
"But…it's true," Eren spoke as he stood up.
All eyes were now on the titan shifter.
"I remember that I was able to access the powers of the Founding Titan once," Eren explained, "When I came into contact with a titan of royal blood, it was the same woman that was my father's first wife: Dina Fritz. If that's true, Zeke is a descendant of royal blood. We can use this plan to stop the 'vow to renounce war', and activate the tens of millions of titans dormant within the walls to flatten the Earth in 'the Rumbling'."
Silence radiated throughout the room while Optimus had a stunned expression on his face. Eren never told him this information. Why would he keep this secret?
"Because I didn't want to risk Historia's life on false information, and have her forced to become a titan," Eren responded, responding to Levi's question instead of Optimus, "It was a rash decision, but I wanted to make sure that the information was accurate."
Optimus felt a sense of relief. He only wanted to ensure that Historia was safe. It wouldn't be wise to sacrifice the Queen of the Walls on a whim. But…the suggestion of using the rumbling still bothered him. Yes, it was brought up in previous meetings, but it wasn't necessarily something that was considered an option at the moment. That was something that he didn't want. He didn't want humanity to be crushed to death by the Colossal Titans. No matter how any of them felt about him.
------------
Marley
Calvi tapped his pen on his desk as Matthew walked into his office. Calvi lifted his head and saw Matthew close the door and cross his arms in irritation.
"What?" Matthew demanded.
"Seems you didn't sleep well last night," Calvi remarked.
"I only get three hours of sleep, if I'm lucky," Matthew stated.
Calvi raised an eyebrow. "I'm…sorry to hear that."
"Eren, please understand that you do not have to hide anything from me," Optimus proclaimed, "Whatever you are afraid of, whatever is going on in your mind, you can tell me. I may not have the solution at the moment, but I will not betray you or tell anyone if you do not want me to. I care for your safety and well-being, but I cannot help you if you do not tell me."
Eren stared at Optimus before resting his head on his shoulder. "I…I don't know…If I'm ready to tell you."
"…I understand," Optimus relented, "But I am here if you need to talk to someone."
"Thank you," Eren said. His vision got blurry as he saw a vision of Optimus' corpse in front of him. He wanted to scream, to tell him what he saw, but something got lodged in his throat. He kept on trying, but all that came out was a quiet whimper. He hugged the Prime and held onto him tighter, begging whoever to make this go away.
"Eren-,"
"Just stay," Eren whimpered, "Just...stay,"
Optimus wanted to ask him what he was so afraid of, but it might lead to him shutting down again. He'll ask another time, and hopefully he will respond.